Energy Transfer LP $ET Shares Sold by ELCO Management Co. LLC

Key Points

• ELCO Management Co. LLC reduced its stake in Energy Transfer by 46% in the fourth quarter, selling 233,368 shares and leaving it with 274,115 shares worth about $4.52 million.
• Energy Transfer reported Q1 earnings of $0.35 per share, missing Wall Street’s $0.40 estimate, though revenue came in above expectations at $27.77 billion and rose 32.1% year over year.
• The company announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.3375 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 6.9%; meanwhile, analysts remain broadly positive with a Buy consensus and a $22 average price target.

ELCO Management Co. LLC cut its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 46.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 274,115 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 233,368 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer accounts for approximately 2.8% of ELCO Management Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. ELCO Management Co. LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $4,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 189,045 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 63,649 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,299 shares in the last quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 35,878 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 34,772 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballast Rock Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $422,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of ET stock opened at $19.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $67.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.57. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $16.18 and a fifty-two week high of $20.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.86.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $27.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.78 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 9.77%. The firm's revenue was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.3375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is 112.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer NYSE: ET is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company's operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.

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